Pages

May 13, 2011

The Birds and the Beasts

In spite of the dump of snow we got in Whitehorse the other day, the birds are back in force. At 22:30, I took a walk around Paddy's Pond in Whitehorse and my ears were filled with the quacks and chirps and whistles of waterfowl and songbirds as they flitted and flew through the thick and tumbling spring snow. It's so very different from those long winter nights when all one can hear at Paddy's Pond are the soft winter winds, the crunching of footsteps on the snowy trails, and distant traffic running up and down the Alaska Highway.

When we were in Faro for the Crane and Sheep Festival, I had to make a couple of day trips to Ross River for work-related reasons. Although the ice still blankets most of the ponds, small openings have become welcome haunts for the myriad of migrating aviators.

These two were engaged in a wonderful display of "synchronized ducking".

There was a colourful but lonely duck that wanted to join the show, but the pair didn't show any interest in becoming a trio.

And if there's any doubt, the bears are out. Time to start carrying bear spray again!